The 2024 Paris Olympics is one for the books.
After all, gifted athletes from across the globe pushed boundaries at the sporting event, surpassing yearslong records in their quest for a gold medal.
In fact, the athleticism displayed this year has been so impressive that some competitors managed to break barriers even before stepping foot at the Olympic Village.
Take American gymnast Hezly Rivera, for example, who made Team USA history when she snagged a spot on women’s gymnastics team alongside Olympic vets Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey in early July. Having turned 16 just the prior month, she became youngest athlete to represent Team USA in any sport.
Quincy Wilson also, as Team USA put it, "etched his name" in history when he made the 4x400m relay squad seven months after his 16th birthday, becoming the youngest male athlete to make the U.S. track and field team.
But the 2024 Olympics itself is also a game-changer. For the first-time ever, the athletic competition—which first welcomed women athletes 124 years ago—achieved gender parity on the field of play, ensuring equal representation of male and female athletes, according to the International Olympics Committee.
Calling this year's event "one of the most important moments in the history of women at the Olympic Games, and in sport overall," IOC president Thomas Bach promised that the organization's "commitment to advancing gender equality does not end in Paris."
“We will continue to open pathways for women and to work with our stakeholders, encouraging them to take the necessary steps to advance gender equality in their area of responsibility," Bach added. "The IOC will keep leading the way and using the power of sport to contribute to a more equal and inclusive society.”
To see all the history-making moments at the 2024 Paris Olympics, keep reading.
Katie Ledecky
After notching a gold in 1500m freestyle, a silver in 4x200 freestyle relay and a bronze in 400m freestyle at the Paris Games, the American swimmer became the most decorated female Olympian in U.S. history.
With a career total of 13 medals, she is also the most decorated female swimmer in Olympic history.
Léon Marchand
Marchand Mania was at an all-time high during the men's 200m breaststroke final, when the French swimmer set an Olympic record of 2:05.85. The impressive time snagged Marchand his third gold medal at the Paris Games.
Jessica Fox
By winning a gold medal in K1, the canoeist became the first Australian athlete to win four consecutive Olympic medals in the same event—having taken home bronze at Tokyo 2020 and at Rio de Janeiro 2016, as well as silver in London 2012.
Her C1 gold medal victory three days later made her the most-decorated Olympic slalom paddler in the world.
Pan Zhanle
The Chinese swimmer set a new world record in men's 100m freestyle with a gold medal-worthy time of 46.40 seconds, a full four tenths from his previous record.
Cassandre Beaugrand
After braving the Seine, as well as streets of Paris on bike and foot, the Olympian claimed France's first gold medal in triathlon with a time of 1:54:55.
Adriana Ruano Oliva
Once an aspiring Olympic gymnast, the sports shooter notched Guatemala's first-ever gold medal when she scored 45 points in the women's trap event.
Gabriel Medina
The Brazilian surfer set a new Olympic record—and went viral with this photo—when he came out of a huge barrel wave with a 9.90, the highest single-wave score in the sport since surfing made its debut at 2020 Tokyo Games.
Jose Torres Gil
With his golden win in the men's park final, this BMX rider from Argentina rode his way into the history books by scoring the country's first individual medal in the sport of cycling.
In addition, his medal was Argentina's first in the 2024 Paris Olympics and the nation's first gold in any sport since 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
Simone Biles
She really is the GOAT! Biles became the most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast in history after winning her eighth medal—her fifth gold—at the women's gymnastics team all-around final.
Biles went on to win another gold in the individual all-around event.
Italy Women's Gymnastics Team
But Biles wasn't the only gymnast who made history at the women's all-around final: Angela Andreoli, Alice D'Amato, Manila Esposito, Elisa Iorio, Giorgia Villa nabbed Team Italy its first medal in the event since 1928 with their silver win.
Brazil Women's Gymnastics Team
Rebeca Andrade, Jade Barbosa, Lorrane Oliveira, Flavia Saraiva and Julia Soares also made history on the podium, winning a bronze for Team Brazil's first-ever medal in women's gymnastics team all-around.
Manu Bhaker
Just three days into the Paris Games, the sharpshooter entered the history books as the first Indian athlete to win multiple medals in a single edition of the Olympics since the nation gained independence in 1947.
She notched a bronze in the women's 10m air pistol—making her the first female shooter from India to win a medal at any Olympics—before landing another bronze alongside teammate Sarabjot Singh in the 10m air rifle, the country's first-ever shooting team medal.
U.S. Women's Rugby Team
With eight seconds left on the clock, Alex Sedrick caught a pass and scored as time ran out, leading to a conversion that resulted in a 14-12 game against Australia.
The dramatic victory gave the Women's Eagles a bronze, Team USA's first-ever Olympic medal in the rugby.
David Popovici
The Olympian made history as the first Romanian man to win a gold medal for swimming when he took home the top prize in the 200m freestyle event.
Ryan Murphy
Just call it an American victory story! In scoring a bronze on July 29, the Team USA swimmer became the first man to win a 100m backstroke medal in three consecutive Olympics since 1972.
The prize was the latest addition to his already-impressive medal collection, which includes a bronze from Tokyo 2020 and a gold from the Rio de Janeiro Games 2016 for the same event.
Mollie O'Callaghan
The Australian swimmer set an Olympic record with a time of 1:53.27 in women’s 200m freestyle, beating out defending champ and teammate Ariarne Titmus for the gold.
Hillary Heron
No other gymnast except Simone Biles has ever performed a double layout with a half-twist—a difficult move aptly dubbed "Biles I"—at the Olympics until Heron came along.
The Panamanian athlete successfully landed it while competing against the stunt's namesake during the gymnastics qualifier.
Christa Deguchi
Team Canada scored its first gold medal in judo thanks to Deguchi, who defeated Republic of Korea's Huh Mimi in a heated July 29 match.
Gretchen Walsh
In her first-ever Summer Games, the American swimmer broke the Olympic record in the 100m butterfly semifinal with a time of 55.38 seconds.
South Sudan Men's Basketball Team
South Sudan—the youngest country in the world—made its Olympics debut on July 28, with their men's basketball team playing against Puerto Rico.
The South Sudan Bright Stars won their first-ever Olympic game with a final score of 90-79.
Nino Salukvadze
The sharpshooter made Olympic history as the world's first and only athlete to compete in 10 consecutive Summer Games when she pulled the trigger at the women's 10m air pistol qualifers on July 27.
The three-time medalist made her Olympic debut back at 1988 Seoul.
Ahmad Abu Al-Soud
For the first time in Olympic history, Jordan was represented in men's gymnastic when Abu Al-Soud competed on the pommel horse. He finished with a score of 12.466 during the qualification round.
Lais Najjar
Syria also saw its first male gymnast compete in the Olympics during the Paris Summer Games, with Najjar raising the bar in the all-around event.
U.S. Men's Gymnastics Team
Stephen Nedoroscik, Frederick Richard, Brody Malone, Paul Juda and Asher Hong won Team USA's first medal in men's gymnastics in 16 years, earning a bronze.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
The basketball player made history as the first Black flagbearer for Greece during the Opening Ceremony.
Quincy Wilson
The track and field star, who turned 16 in January, "etched his name" in history, according to Team USA, when he became the youngest male athlete to make 4x400m relay squad.
Hezly Rivera
As for the youngest athlete in any sport to make Team USA? That'll be Rivera, who turned 16 just weeks before she was selected to join the women's gymnastics team.